Well, Jay and I painted the kitchen this weekend and it looks great! We spent 2 hours taping the kitchen on Friday night, and by 3pm Saturday the paint job was complete. I worked a concert at the museum on Saturday night, so I taped the foyer before I left and Jay finished painting that while I was out. Now our whole downstairs is painted, so we have retired our rollers and brushes for a bit. The next project for me will be putting knobs on the kitchen cabinets and drawers...and for Jay: building a deck!

In honor of our recent purchase of two round trip tickets to England for August 25th, I decided to post my favorite homemade fish and chips recipe that Jay has given good marks to! We are (hopefully) going to England to our friends' Brendan and Nikki's wedding on September 1st, but we may have just run into a snafu with the wonderful U.S. government and the green card process. Keep your fingers crossed that we'll still able to go, and enjoy the recipe!

English-Style Fish & Chips

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil, for deep frying

4 large russet potatoes

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 (12-ounce) can soda water

1/2 cup rice flour, for dredging

2 (8-ounce) cod or haddock fillets, cut in 1/2 on an angle

Malt vinegar, for serving

Heat 3-inches of the oil in a deep fryer to 325 degrees F. Alternately, heat 3-inches of oil in a deep pot. Peel the potatoes and cut them into chips, about the size of your index finger. Put the potatoes in the oil. Fry the chips for 2 to 3 minutes; they should not be crisp or fully cooked at this point. Remove the chips with a spider strainer or slotted spoon, to a paper towel-lined platter to drain.

Crank the oil temperature up to 375 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and egg. Pour in the soda water and whisk to a smooth batter. Spread the rice flour on a plate. Dredge the fish pieces in the rice flour and then dip them into the batter, letting the excess drip off.

Put the chips in the bottom of the fryer basket and carefully submerge in the hot oil. Carefully wave the battered fish into the bubbling oil before dropping them in on top of the chips. Fry the fish and chips for 4 to 5 minutes until crispy and brown. Remove the basket and drain the fish and chips on paper towels; season lightly with salt. Serve wrapped in a newspaper cone with malt vinegar and/or tartar sauce.

July 6-8 I finally made it down to Florida to visit Matt & Caroline in Jacksonville before their big move to California! We had a blast...ate lots of seafood, went to the beach with Krista and Andrew, bowling on base, got to see Matt's ship, and did some shopping too. Somehow I managed to get my suitcase closed again and Matt took me back to the airport at 5:30am so I could catch my flight back to Raleigh and head into work. That was a long day! But it was a great trip. The only downside was that Jay had to stay home to help save money so he didn't get to join in the fun.

But he was busy while I was away! He painted the living room as a surprise to me, in the color I had picked out ages ago. What a sweetie! It looks awesome, check it out! We are doing the kitchen this weekend so I get to be his painting assistant. I can't wait! We will be sure to post pics of the before and after.